Yu Qiaoyun was a very gentle person, in her early 30s, who had just had a baby. Just a few days ago, when she and her husband Song Zhengqing returned from the hospital, He Miaomiao had even seen them.
They lived in the same building—an old neighborhood, a walk-up apartment complex with no elevators.
Sister Yu had given birth via C-section and couldn’t walk down the stairs. Holding her tightly bundled little baby in her arms, her husband, Brother Song, pushed her to the entrance in a wheelchair rented from the hospital. Together with a delivery driver they had hired for 300 yuan, they struggled to haul the wheelchair up the stairs.
He Miaomiao happened to be coming home at the time and conveniently helped them grab their keys to open the door.
For that small gesture alone, once their family was settled in, Brother Song made a special trip over to bring a bag of apples as a token of gratitude.
The couple were both deeply kind and friendly people.
Could the person speaking in the group really be her?
If it truly was her, how could a body that had just given birth possibly hold up?
Thinking of that bag of crisp, sweet apples and recalling Yu Qiaoyun’s warm, smiling face whenever they greeted each other in passing, He Miaomiao bit her lip, typed the information she had compiled into the dialogue box, and clicked send.
What if it really is her?
Even if it isn’t, if it can help someone in need, that’s fine too.
Regrettably, private messages weren’t allowed, and it was still unclear what kind of world Despair Valley truly was. For safety’s sake, He Miaomiao had no intention of exposing either her own or anyone else’s identity this early on.
Besides, as a born-and-bred natural jinx, she feared that having too much individual contact with people would bring bad luck to those around her and end up harming Sister Yu instead.
However—
The text she sent out did not appear directly in the group chat. Instead, it automatically transformed into the shape of a book, with its cover reading Despair Valley Known Rules, priced at 2 Dry Grass / 1 Wood / 1 Stone (choose any one).
One had to pay before viewing it.
[Xia Ning]: “What is this? What is Despair Valley? Why does it share the same name as the group? And what are these rules?”
[Jia Chang]: “He Miaomiao, do you know something? Speak up directly! Where are we supposed to go find those things you mentioned?”
[You Hua]: “I get it! Dry grass, wood, and stone—can they be used to craft stuff just like in video games? When I was walking around outside today, I accidentally pulled out a stalk of grass and obtained 1 Dry Grass, and I even gathered a bit more. I’ll make the exchange right now!”
Before long, He Miaomiao received 2 portions of Dry Grass.
[You Hua]: “I saw it! So that’s how it is! This is actually a real game world! Big boss, I’m a professional gamer and even I didn’t figure this out—how did you know? These rules are insanely useful! I suggest everyone who has the means should go buy it!”
[Jia Chang]: “What do you mean? What real? What game? What are you guys talking about? He Miaomiao, You Hua, what time do you think it is for you to still be speaking in riddles here? If I knew anything, I would definitely tell everyone so that everyone knows what’s going on and what to do!”
[Wang Shouyi]: “Exactly! If it were me, I’d share it too! Unlike some people who actually want to use this chance to strike it rich! I’ve gone out to mess with that dry grass and stone stuff before—it takes a huge amount of effort and time just to get a tiny bit, yet you have the nerve to ask for so much upfront! So black-hearted! And that You Hua guy, he’s obviously a paid shill at first glance. Everyone, don’t fall for it! They’re profiting off human blood!”
You Hua, who had been studying the rules, flew into a rage.
[You Hua]: “The big boss being willing to share is already generous enough! Compiling all this carried huge risks to begin with and required a ton of time! For our sake, the big boss even proactively left the safe zone to provoke the monster, just to test out how much HP we lose per hit! She almost lost her life! Why on earth should she share it for free? You guys have hands and feet—can’t you even gather two stalks of grass? Are you really that weak?”
As a professional gamer, he adapted to the survival world very quickly, even feeling his blood boil with excitement, as if he had arrived in his comfort zone.
Furthermore, he hadn’t placed 100% faith in what was written in the rules.
First, he wasn’t familiar with He Miaomiao and didn’t know her character or whether she was trustworthy.
Second, much like a game walkthrough, it was explored and written by a human, so it wasn’t necessarily entirely accurate. Even if it was accurate, everyone’s circumstances differed, and a path suitable for He Miaomiao might not suit him—for instance, regarding the Corrupted Rabbits mentioned by He Miaomiao, he hadn’t seen so much as a shadow of one despite walking around outside for an entire day.
His resource gathering attempts added up to five times, yet it hadn’t drawn a single rabbit at all; he had zero clue where to find them.
Therefore, You Hua planned to test things out himself once day broke.
[Wang Shouyi]: “Oh, defending her so fiercely—and you still claim you’re not together in this? Everyone else in the group, don’t believe them! Who knows what’s actually written in there? They’re definitely scamming us out of our money!”
[Duanmu Jing]: “@You Hua Did you really pay dry grass? How do you pay?”
[You Hua]: “Just like paying with a smartphone—the dry grass got deducted automatically. I checked, and I am indeed short 2 portions.”
[Wang Shouyi]: “@Duanmu Jing Girl, are you stupid? I gave such a clear warning and you’re still rushing to get scammed? If you ask me, our appearance in such a strange place is entirely their doing!”
The next second, He Miaomiao received 1 Stone and 2 Dry Grass, originating from Duanmu Jing and Yu Qiaoyun respectively.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
Although things hadn’t turned out quite the way she imagined, if the other person really was Sister Yu, as long as she could read the information, it would be of some help to her.
[Duanmu Jing]: “Many thanks, big boss.”
[Yu Qiaoyun]: “Thank you, this is very useful.”
[Wang Shouyi]: “Wait, are you guys blind, or are you shills too?! Can’t you see what I’m saying? She’s a scammer! A scammer!”
[Qi Yi]: “Whatever, I just want to go home, waaaah…”
[Jia Chang]: “My apologies. I was just terrified and anxious opening my eyes to find myself in a godforsaken place like this, so my tone was a bit harsh earlier. I apologize to you here. But as you see, I’m someone who has never played video games, and I truly don’t understand what you guys are talking about. We should all be compatriots, and right now we ought to help each other out. You wouldn’t want to watch everyone fumble blindly and suffer together, right? Why don’t you share what you discovered in the group? We will all remember your kindness. Helping so many people will surely make you feel good too, right?”
[Chen Wei]: “Yeah, judging by our names, we’re all family. Now that we happen to be in the same village, it’s such fate—why don’t you just share it?”
Similar voices grew more and more frequent.
Some couldn’t afford to pay and couldn’t buy it, so they wanted to leech off some benefits. Others had dry grass, wood, or stone on hand, but figured getting it for free was naturally better, so they chimed in with the crowd as well.
A normal person in this situation would undoubtedly feel immense psychological pressure, but He Miaomiao was not a normal person.
She had long since become completely immune to verbal abuse and moral high-ground guilt trips. After all, back when her so-called relatives and friends shouted that her jinxed nature would only harm people and asked why she didn’t just go die, if she had actually listened, she wouldn’t have survived until today.
He Miaomiao observed every single person speaking in the group.
Unlike normal group chats, this group provided no way to view the list of members. It was simply a platform where villagers of Village 4 could communicate and trade—the value was determined independently by the platform, beyond the seller’s control.
For example, when she sent out the rules earlier, her intention was to share them free of charge, yet the system required corresponding resources to be paid before they could be viewed.
Looking closely at the names of the people who had spoken up, they were very distinctive; clearly, they all originated from the same country.
Additionally, You Hua gathered dry grass very quickly, often obtaining it in just 1 attempt. It appeared that for players with normal luck, gathering resources wasn’t nearly as stamina-draining as it was for her.
He Miaomiao logged these down one by one.
When she saw You Hua say that she had proactively challenged the Corrupted Rabbit, she fell silent for half a second.
Was I proactive?! I had no choice because I was too unlucky! What normal person gets ambushed by a monster the moment they open their door?!
TAT
By the time she finished her tasks, it was already very late. He Miaomiao closed her panel and stowed away the rabbit meat that had finished roasting long ago.
[Cooked Rabbit Meat ×2!]
[Cooked Rabbit Meat ×2! (Critical Hit)]
Time to sleep.
He Miaomiao slept soundly, completely unaffected by being dragged into a survival game. When she opened her eyes again, it was already 6:57 AM.
The campfire beside her remained as warm as ever; an entire night of burning hadn’t altered it in the slightest.
It seemed she didn’t need to worry about adding firewood to it.
How worry-free.
Outside the door was still pitch black, with no sign of brightening up yet.
He Miaomiao scrambled up from the ground and organized her resources.
Upon taking inventory, she was pleasantly surprised—several more villagers had purchased the handbook in the group overnight. She now possessed 15 Wood, 16 Stone, and 10 Dry Grass.
The materials to craft the Stone Axe were fully collected!
He Miaomiao triggered the workbench immediately.
[Stone Axe: Wood ×15, Stone ×10 (Requirements met, craft now?)]
Yes.
While waiting, He Miaomiao opened the group chat and glanced through it.
[Qi Yi]: “Why am I still in this godforsaken place, AAAAAHHH! I want to go home! Let me go home!”
[Wang Shouyi]: “Hmph, I won’t buy it! I definitely won’t let a scammer earn a single cent off me!”
[Jia Chang]: “It seems this girl truly isn’t willing to share. Let’s not blame her, everyone. She probably just felt that gathering those items was too exhausting and wanted to use this method to save some effort. I wonder if any other family members are willing to give some guidance? I thank you on behalf of our compatriots.”
[Wan Zifan]: “What’s the big deal? I bought a copy yesterday. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I’ll share it out for free right now.”
[Chen Wei]: “Brother Wan is so noble! Unlike certain people who only think about taking advantage of a crisis.”
[Jia Chang]: “I knew it—there are still plenty of good people in the world! It’s precisely because of selfless people like you that our world will get better and better. Thank you, thank you!”
[Wan Zifan]: “No problem, no problem: *%&#@￥”
[Wan Zifan]: “???”
[Wan Zifan]: “Why can’t I post it?!”
[Wan Zifan]: “%￥…&*”
[Wan Zifan]: “@#*&()”
[Wan Zifan]: “!@#*￥#”
[Wan Zifan]: “Family members, I tried my best, but this thing is a bit spooky. I can’t post it out. If you want to read it, you’d better buy it yourselves.”
At this moment, 7:00 AM arrived.
The world that was pitch black just a second ago instantly brightened up, though the overall environment remained dusty and grey, making people feel stifled.
He Miaomiao closed her panel and tapped the workbench.
[Stone Axe ×1!]
[Stone Axe ×1! (Critical Hit)]
He Miaomiao cast Appraisal on it.
[Stone Axe: Tool for chopping trees.]
He Miaomiao fell silent for a second, then set off out the door carrying her 17 pieces of Cooked Rabbit Meat and her new tool.
Her goal was clear: Wood.
Yesterday, without any tools, she had smashed trees bare-handed 3 times, causing her stamina to drop near the safety threshold, yielding 2 logs of wood when stacked with critical hits.
She wondered how much of a boost the Stone Axe would provide.
He Miaomiao walked up to the nearest small tree and swung the Stone Axe.
1 strike.
[Wood ×1!]
[Wood ×1! (Critical Hit)]
He Miaomiao: !!!